Agent Fitness

08/03/2014

The FitX Sports and Fitness Expo was pumping this year! Good to see so many people interested in their health. Congrats to the guys at FitX, you did a great job.

15/08/2013

Arnold Chest Exercises


Arnold Schwarzenegger had perhaps the most aesthetic physiques of all time. Not to mention his massive chest.

Arnie trained chest 2-3 times a week and he always trained back and chest on the same day. Here is a list of the chest exercises Arnold used to become the King of Old School Bodybuilding.

1) Bench Press
Arnold would start with a proper warm up and then proceed to add weight and decrease repetitions over 5 sets. He would do 8 – 12 reps. He always kept his elbows well back and touched the bar high on the chest, this is sometimes called the Schwarzenegger twist.

2) Incline Barbell Press
Arnold would perform 10-12 reps for 5 sets. Focusing more on form rather than how much the weight he lifted. He claimed most of his upper chest mass was from his movement. For incline barbell press Arnold would do much like he did in the bench press: He kept his elbows well back and touched the bar very high on his chest.

3) Dumbbell Flyes
Arnold would choose dumbbells that would allow him 5 sets of 10-12 reps. He always imagined that he were hugging a large tree and the dumbbells never touched each other. Rather they’d remain 8-10 cm’s apart at the end of each rep. In the opening scenes of “Pumping Iron” you can see Arnold performing this exercise.

4) Parallel Bar Dips
When bulking, Arnold favored this move. Once again, 5 sets of 10-12 reps. Arnold claimed dips created a definitive line around his lower pecs. Arnie would lean forward and hang a dumbbell from a chain around his neck for added resistance.

5) Dumbbell Pullovers
Schwarzenegger claimed one could add inches to their chest measurement by doing these across a flat bench. As with most movements, Arnold would do 5 sets of 12-12 reps. He would keep his hips low at all time throughout the movement, allowing for a great stretch.

6) Cable Crossovers
These were usually done pre-contest as Arnold believed this movement brought out the striations in his chest. Five sets of 12-15 reps were the order of the day. Arnold would forcefully squeeze the cable handles together at the end of each rep as if doing a most muscular pose.

He did not necessarily do them in this order, if he felt that an area in his chest did not match up to the rest of his chest, he’d train that area first. The 7x Mr.Olympia would do 20-25 sets choosing from the listed exercises.

Next time you’re training chest, do it like Mr. Schwarzenegger did it, with SWAG:

13/08/2013

Hot Yoga Does Not Burn More Calories Than Regular Yoga!

Contrary to popular perception, researchers at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse have found that people who perform hot yoga do not burn more calories than those who opt for regular yoga.

Hot yoga is a form of performing yoga exercises in hot and humid conditions, with temperatures often above 105 Fahrenheit (40.5 Celsius), and has gained popularity among Hollywood celebrities. However experts say that while doing hot yoga is not harmful, it does not make the body work harder or burn more calories.

In the study, commissioned by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the researchers observed two dozen healthy adults performing hot yoga in classes with an average temperature of 33C (92F) and regular yoga classes and found that there was no difference in the increase in core temperature or heart rate among the participants.

"The benefits are largely perceptual. People think the degree of sweat is the quality of the workout, but that's not reality. It doesn't correlate to more calories. An increase in core temperature would suggest the person is storing heat, and depending on how high, would be at risk for heat injury. We didn't find that", ACE's chief science officer Dr Cedric Bryant said.

13/08/2013

Tips for working your glutes.....

The American Council on Exercise and exercise scientists at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, recently studied the most effective exercises for working the gluteus muscles and building a stronger butt. They used electromyographic (EMG) analysis to measure muscle activation of eight common glute exercises.

Keep in mind that if you sit much of the day, you may have inactive (weak) glutes, along with tight hamstrings and hip flexors. Before diving into the major glute strengthening exercises, it's helpful to do Glute Activation Exercises to get your backside firing properly before your workout.

Here are the study results for the best glute exercises.
Best Butt Exercises

Quadruped Hip Extensions
Lunges
Also see: Overhead Lunge | Walking Dumbbell Lunge
Step Ups
Squats
Four-Way Hip Extensions
One-Legged Squat

Best Exercise for Gluteus maximus
Their findings showed that even though squats generated significantly more muscle activation than both the horizontal and vertical leg presses, there was no significant difference in EMG activity when compared to the other exercises.
Best Exercise for Gluteus medius
The quadruped hip extensions, step ups and lunges generated significantly more muscle activation than squats. The horizontal and vertical leg presses generated the least amount of activity.
Best Exercise for Hamstrings
Quadruped hip extensions, step ups and lunges and four-way hip extensions showed significantly more EMG activity than squats. The horizontal and vertical leg presses ranked lowest in EMG activity.

According to the researchers "There was no clear winner, but this study did confirm the value of five exercises--single-leg squats, quadruped hip extensions, step-ups, lunges and four-way hip extensions--as effective alternatives to traditional squats."

12/08/2013

Did you know that the Bicycle crunch is the best ab exercise?

A study done by San Diego State University found that the Bicycle crunch was the best exercise for the re**us abdominus. The study measured the amount of muscle stimulation caused by the exercise.

To perform the Bicycle crunch:

1. Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground and contract your core muscles.

2. Place your hands behind your head and lift your knees to about a 45-degree angle.

3.Begin to move your feet out and in, in a pedaling motion.
As you move you pedal your legs, touch the opposite elbow to the knee that is in. Then bring the other leg in and touch the opposite elbow to that knee.

4. Repeat for the desired amount of repetitions.

12/08/2013

I hope everyone had great International Chest Day!

06/08/2013